To Run
by Danshique
Summary: A runaway human meets someone she least expects
1. In The Dark

When I think no one is watching, I dart towards the open door of the baggage cart. Nothing. No shouts. I haven't been discovered. Peering into the inky darkness as well as I can, I spot several crates in a corner. The sound of gravel crunching from just outside the cart freezes me. I wait for a few moments. The footsteps die away. 

No time to waste.

Searching for a means of camouflage, I pull the hood of my dark jacket over my head and crawl among the crates.

Perfect. I pull a dark green woollen fabric from the top of a bunch of boxes and crawling underneath it backpack and all, I hide myself. Just then a whistle sounds signaling that the train is about to start moving. Moving away from home forever. I grit my teeth and force down the waves of nervousness and anxiety threatening to rush up my throat.

This is it, Lyn. No turning back now.

More sounds of gravel crunching under boots from outside, this time with purpose.

Have I been discovered already?

My skin prickles as if a thousand insects are foraging over me. Someone steps onto the cart. I lie as still as I can under the protective green cloth. I hear the click of a flashlight and footsteps circle the cart, inspecting the cargo. I pray that the train inspector doesn't notice the oddly-shaped lump wedged between the crates.

A boot thuds not a metre from where I lie. I hardly breathe. I wait an eternity for the cloth to be whipped away from my body. But nothing happens.

Seemingly satisfied, the footsteps walk out of the cart. The cart door is pulled close with a screech, leaving me in the stifling darkness.

* * *

I'm trapped in a black abyss. The only sound I hear is my own heavy breathing. This twilight zone is making me feel claustrophobic. I feel blind and helpless. I swallow the urge to scream. This isn't the time to panic, it's only the dark, I reason. Scrabbling my fingers over my surroundings, I manage to pull myself up to a sitting position. I take deep, even breaths and pretend I'm in the warm sunshine, a breeze blowing against my face. I breathe easily again.

The train lurches to a start just then, throwing me out of my reverie.

Well, I guess this is goodbye, I think almost smugly.

Just thinking about Dad makes my blood boil.

"You're worthless! I don't even know why I even bother to feed you! You care so much about those scums that you've become one!", his words ring in my ears like a siren.

Well I've had enough of it. Enough that I decided to leave once and for all. After all, I'm sixteen, there's still plenty of hope and opportunity for me out there, wherever I'm going.

Where am I going?

A faint glow immerges at the corner of my eye. I wonder whether my eyes are playing tricks on me after being in pitch darkness for so long. I decide to find out.

Working my way out slowly, I crawl towards the lambent flickering light. It's almost dancing.

Just then, I bang my elbow against something hard. I spit out a curse as electric zings shoot up my arm like lightning.

"Who's there?" someone yells out. I'm taken by surprise.

Someone else is here too?

I choose to hold my tongue until I can decide whether this stranger is friend or foe. But the stranger doesn't seem satisfied. He yells louder.

"Whoever you are you better show yourself. This is my last warning". Warning? I almost snort. But whoever he is, he sounds unstable. I'm glad for trusting my instincts and not giving myself away.

Suddenly, balls of fire shoot out from all directions and surround me. I scream and shield myself with my arms as they scorch me, flying every which way like mad.

* * *

I'm stuck with a mutant. I didn't use to think they were so bad, despite how the media conveys them. I used to know one, even.

I had a friend in school named Kaila. We were really close but sometimes, I felt that she was carrying a huge secret, a burden so heavy that she couldn't lift it off her shoulders.

* * *

"You know you can tell me anything right?"

Kaila nods and smiles. It looks strained. Her eyes betray her feelings. She's about to burst, I can tell.

Finally, she yells out loud and tugs at her long hair.

"Hey, hey! Relax. It's okay, tell me only when you're ready," I reassure her. I'm getting more worried. What can possibly be so dreadful that Kaila won't tell it to me?

She takes a deep breath.

"Okay, I'm ready. But you better close your bedroom door".

"What?"

"Just do it. You wanna know, right?"

I get up, confused, and close the door.

"Lock it". I look at her like she is crazy.

"What? Do you have a twin growing out of your stomach or something?" I joke. Kaila gives me a look.

Okay, I get the message. I press the lock on the knob and sit down beside her on the bed.

"Watch". Kaila closes her eyes and appears to concentrate. Suddenly, I feel the bed tremble. An earthquake?

I dither, wondering whether to grab Kaila and flee. How stupid I was not to have realised that I shouldn't have worried about Kaila at all.

Then something miraculous happens. The bed lifts clear off the floor with the both of us on it. I gawk. And realise.

* * *

Kaila and I were really close. We were so close that she even trusted me with her secret. Kaila had an X gene.

Unfortunately, her secret didn't stay as one. One day, Kaila used her powers in public. She was walking home alone one night when someone tried to mug her. She threw the guy into a lamp post with a wave of her arm. And was caught on tape. Some blithering idiots happened to be videotaping themselves spraying graffiti on a stone wall when they found themselves recording a ton of money.

Kaila was a goner. The media was on her trail twenty-four seven. Dad found out what she was and forbade me from having anything to do with her.

But of course, who was he to dictate me that way? I didn't listen to him. I fought alongside her when everyone in school turned against her. A few accepted her but didn't show it for fear of being labelled as mutant-lovers. Everyone knew humans and mutants were at war. But I didn't care. Kaila was still Kaila.

Kaila left, of course. She moved to a place where there aren't any televisions or reporters to mar her life. And I lost a very good friend. We stopped contacting each other because both our parents prevented us from it. Her parents, for my safety. My parents, because they are anti-mutant. I don't even have her address.

I tried to set up a committee of humans that support and protect the rights of mutants after she left but there weren't many who were brave enough to come forward. This act of mine became widely known. Some called me a radical, others called me the devil. Dad just called me worthless. After I got sick of everything and everyone, I left too, just like Kaila did.

Like I said, I didn't use to think mutants were so bad. But this one may be an exception.

Maybe he's the kind of mutant that's the reason why we're having this ridiculous war in the first place.

* * *

I must have blacked out. I'm lying on the floor with my head propped up against my own backpack. I smell singed.

I sit up and cradle my head as the world spins. What happened just now?

A cool breeze blows against my skin. I realise the cart door is open. Someone is sitting beside it.

Flick. Flick. Flick. The someone flicks and closes what looks like a lighter glinting in his hand in the moonlight. The nonchalant way he does it gives me the impression that it's a habit.

I try to find my voice. My throat feels like I've swallowed sand. I clear it.

The flicking stops. He, the mutant, looks my way. I realise he probably can't see me in the dark. Or can he?

"Who are you?" I ask him. He starts flicking again.

"I asked you first".

"Well you scorched me," I say accusingly. I can't see the expression on his face but he remains silent for a long time. Flick. Flick. Flick.

"Well then," he finally speaks up, "aren't you afraid of me? Or are you like me too?"

"Well I'm human, if that's what you mean," I reply. Looking at him now, I realise that he must've been afraid too. That's why he had scorched me, wasn't it?. It was in self-defence. He'd thought I was the threat.

"I'm not afraid of you".

"Oh?" I detect a hint of surprise in his voice. Then he continues, "Then you're a silly girl".

I bristle at his gratuitous comment. Silly girl indeed. He looks no more than a teenager himself. He wears a pair of scruffy jeans and a jacket over a shirt. His hair is dark and lank and he has boyish looks although his serious expression makes him look older. I can't see if he's carrying anything else.

He reminds me of myself.

"So, what are you running away from?"


	2. On The Way

This train is headed for California which is about nineteen hours away from where I boarded in New York station. Looks like it's going to be a long trip. 

My backpack is full of things that I need like food and clothing but I know that they won't last me very long. I have to ration my supplies carefully.

He says his name is Pyro. He won't tell me his real name. He won't tell me a lot of things. I don't see why he should, actually. We're both alone in this world. We don't need anyone. I don't need anyone.

I told him my name was Red.

* * *

"You're not a red-head".

"It's nothing to do with my hair colour". Well, not yet, anyway.

Red means anger. It means radical change. It means a lot. But mostly it means blood. Kaila and I are blood-sisters. I want for it to be remembered. Red.

I feel drawn to him for some reason. He's always flicking that lighter of his. It's getting annoying.

"Stop that".

He looks at me, cocks an eyebrow and resumes flicking. My fingers itch to swat it out of his hand but I don't know what he'd do to me if I did that. I don't want to find out.

So instead, I sigh.

I tap my feet in boredom until it becomes a rhythm, like a drum beat. I try to tap in time with Pyro's flicking. Flick, flick, tap. Flick, flick, tap.

"We will, we will rock you," I sing.

He stops flicking. Finally. I almost grin.

"What do you want?" he asks. Me?

"Nothing".

He scrutinizes my face for a moment. "You know, I don't get you. You've seen what I can do and you're not the least bit nervous about it?"

"Nope".

"What about what they've been saying about us, how dangerous we are. Haven't you seen what we can do?"

"Of course". He seems to consider this for a moment. He nods, as if to himself.

"Let me show you something". He flicks his lighter open and lights a flame. As I watch, he pulls it towards his palm and shapes it into a fiery ball. I don't dare to blink in case I miss anything. He holds his palm with the fireball suspended over it out to me.

"Touch it," he says. I raise my eyebrows in alarm.

"No really, it won't hurt. I control it".

I look at the ball of vermillion in his hand. Its depth and beauty captivates me. Slowly, I raise my hand to touch it gingerly before pulling my fingers back. But there's no pain at all. There are no burn marks on my fingers. I look at Pyro with awe. Feeling bolder, I let the fire engulf my entire hand, turning it this way and that. The energy of the flames runs through my veins, fluid-like and swift. For once, I feel powerful.

Pyro slowly lets the flames die down. I'm still mesmerised.

"Wow," I breathe.

Pyro smiles. I think it's the first time I've seen him smile. I smile back.

* * *

Pyro's real name is St John Allerdyce. I call him John now. He's running away from the X-Men and someone else called Magneto. I'm surprised. I'd thought he'd be running away from humans. I guess we're stuck in the same boat- we're both running away from our own kind.

I tell him about Kaila and Dad and how I'd tried to set up a committee.

"Something like the human equivalent of the X-Men?"

"Yeah, something like that".

I ask him why he'd left the X-Men in the first place.

"I don't understand why we have to protect the very people who want to destroy us". I consider this.

"I don't want to destroy you," I reply.

He almost seems surprised by this new perspective. Maybe he'd never realised that there are people in this world who like me, don't hate mutants. Or maybe it's just easier to generalise the enemy. Less complicated that way.

* * *

I wake up and realise something is different. The train has stopped moving. We've made it to California.

In alarm, I realise I hear voices right outside the baggage cart. But before I can do anything, the cart door flies wide open. Light pours in.

"What the-? You! What are you kids doing in here?" the train inspector shouts.

John is already awake beside me.

Before I know what is happening, he blasts the inspector away with a fireball.

"Come on, let's go!"

In a flurry, I grab my backpack and we run out of the baggage cart and away as fast as our legs can carry us. Where do we go now? I hear voices behind us.

"They're chasing us!" I yell to John.

Sending out another fireball, he manages to deviate them. We run out of the station and penetrate the crowd.

I pant in relief and exhilaration. We've lost them. I grin at John and he starts laughing.

Is this where we part?

John clears his throat. "So where are you going?"

I grin sheepishly this time. "I don't know...I didn't think I'd make it this far".

So that's when we decide to stick together for the time being.


	3. Mystique

We have limited money and food. We walk around California, wondering what to do next. 

Do I really want to start a new life here?

The horizon is filled with tall buildings and skyscrapers and the air is noisy with sounds of traffic. I look at everything around me and muse at what I could possibly do with my high school education.

I wonder what John is thinking about. He seems to be searching for something in the crowd.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," he says unconvincingly. "I just thought I saw someone I know".

We check into a motel room that night. How long can we keep this up before we run out of money? But John doesn't seem worried. Maybe he still has a few tricks left up his sleeve.

John takes the floor. Trying to quell my guilt as I settle into the bed, I try to sleep.

I can't.

John is mumbling something. I turn over and find that his eyes are still closed. He must be having a dream.

"Mystique," he says. Who's Mystique?

* * *

"Wake up," I shake John lying on the floor. It's seven in the morning. We have to set out early if we want to get anything done. I'd planned all night. I would get a job, an apartment, and everything would turn out just fine.

John swats my hand away like it's a fly and grumbles. However, a few minutes later he's up and preparing to leave.

I wonder where we start.

We set out the door when he suddenly walks purposefully ahead of me. He seems to know where he's going. I open my mouth to question him, then decide against it. He seems truculent today. I think about the dream he'd had yesterday. Must have been a bad one.

I follow after him.

* * *

The sun shines brightly but the air is cold. I'm glad for my jacket. It was one of the first things I'd grabbed when I left home.

We've been walking for an hour or so. My toes are screaming inside my sneakers and my ankles are aching but I don't say anything. John looks as if in a trance. He hasn't said a word since I'd finally asked him where we were going.

"Mystique". That was all he'd said, just like last night.

I think John has gone mad.

What am I doing with this mad person? I'd set out on my own; I should be able to survive alone. I'd never dreamed that our paths would cross when I'd left home in the first place.

I slow down my pace. John keeps on walking. I don't even think his mind's here.

John's getting further away. He's getting lost in the crowd that has begun to form.

As I lose sight of him, I suddenly become aware of my surroundings. A putrid stench offends my nostrils. A man on my left is selling fish. Entrails splatter his chopping board.

The crowd pushes me about, bumping into me from all sides. Ample-bosomed women with baskets in hand shout at the top of their lungs, bargaining with stall-holders.

I'm all alone.

Panic rushes through me like wildfire. I push through the noisy, suffocating crowd until I come to a clearing. Is he gone?

My eyes search frantically. Thankfully, I spot him some distance away. I sprint towards him on aching feet.

"John!" I yell out. Didn't he even notice I was gone? My cheeks burn with fury and embarrassment at myself. John turns around, surprised.

"Lyn? What're you doing so far away? Hurry up!"

I stumble to a stop, facing him. I'm panting heavily.

"I was about to leave you". John looks amused.

"Well what happened?"

"Where are we going?" I ask vehemently. "Can you snap out of it? Because you're creeping me out". I glare him down, my eyes darting daggers.

John surprises me by apologising.

"I told you we're going to see Mystique. I had a dream".

I look at him for a while. "I know".

He holds out his hand and indicates that we move forward. I look at it and without taking it, I walk ahead. I don't trust him. Not yet.

* * *

I wonder who this Mystique is. She must mean a great deal to him to affect him so much.

So I ask him.

After contemplating for a while, he replies, "A friend".

I frown a little. Maybe Mystique's a man. I nearly laugh at the thought of a man called Mystique, envisioning Speedos and a cape of silver stars.

"So. She's your friend? Why are we meeting her?"

"We're both running from Magneto". So. Mystique is a 'she'.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you hiding from Magneto anyway? I thought you didn't like being on the X-men side".

"Not hiding," he sounds insulted, "Running". After a moment, he continues, "I didn't like being on Magneto's side. I guess Mystique didn't either".

I think I'm beginning to understand John. He doesn't want to protect humans and he doesn't want to kill them either.

John says that Mystique wants his help. He says that she came to him in a dream, with details of her location. I ask him if she has psychic powers.

"No," John says. For a moment he looks confused. "But maybe she got her ability using Professor Xavier's morph". He shrugs. Okay, so she has morphing abilities.

Flick. Flick. Flick.

Oh, no. He's starting again. I guess that's a sign that he doesn't want to talk anymore. I trudge onwards in silence.

* * *

I find myself in Los Angeles where the air is more humid. It's dark and chilly.

We enter a cafeteria. "Open 24 hours," reads a neon sign at the glass window. I practically run to a table for a seat. I'll never take a soft cushion to sit on for granted ever again.

Taking my shoes off, I examine the blisters on each foot and stretch my toes. Bliss.

John settles himself across from me. He looks just as drained as I am. Just as I'm about to say something, a waitress comes over and asks for our order. I look at John but he isn't even looking at the menu.

"I'll have a cheeseburger and a Coke, thanks".

The waitress writes it down and looks at John expectantly. He's staring into space. I kick his shin with my bare foot and he snaps around and frowns at me.

"Your order," I say.

He looks up and sees the waitress standing at our table. "Oh". After barely glancing at the menu, he says, "I'll have whatever she's having".

The waitress cocks an eyebrow and leaves us in peace.

"I told you to snap out of it!" I say through gritted teeth.

John flicks his lighter and ignores me. This guy has a personality that changes like the tides. I decide not to provoke him. He looks as if he's balancing on the very edge of sanity.

"I don't understand," he mumbles.

"Excuse me, what?"

John ignores the sarcasm in my tone. "We're supposed to be here by now. I followed all the directions".

I nearly scream out in frustration. Have we walked all that way for nothing?

The waitress reappears with our orders. That was fast. She places the food and drinks on the table and leaves without a word.

I sip at my Coke with pleasure and enjoy the prickly feeling as it tumbles down my throat. John doesn't even touch his food.

What's this? A piece of paper is sticking out from between the slices of his cheeseburger. Those incorrigible bastards. I pull out the piece of paper in anger. John may have been acting weird, but that's no reason to contaminate his food.

Wait a minute. It's not just any piece of paper. There's a message written on it.

"Follow the blue arrows".

"What is it?" John asks excitedly. Mystique. "That waitress, it was her wasn't it? Of course!" He reads the note. "Let's go," he grabs my hand and we leave the cafeteria as I struggle to put my sneakers back on. My stomach grumbles in bitter disappointment.

* * *

"Follow the blue arrows, she says," I grumble in hunger. "Why not cheeseburgers or...or fries?" I know I'm not making any sense but hunger does things to a person.

John doesn't listen. He's busy looking for blue arrows.

Fine. Blue arrows...blue arrows...if I were a blue arrow, where would I be?

I leave John to his hunt and examine a brick wall at the back of the cafeteria carefully. A streak of blue paint has been sprayed onto it. Too bad it's not in the shape of an arrow.

"Lyn! I found one!" I hear John yell. Yippee.

I find him bent over a blue arrow on a sidewalk.

"Yeah, so let's go," I say.

He stands up and faces me.

"Not yet little girly". What?

Suddenly he shifts and changes before my eyes. A blue woman with red hair and yellow eyes stands before me.

All becomes dark.


	4. Doublecrossed

I cringe as Kaila makes a cut on the palm of her hand. She winces but does it without making a sound. Blood trickles down her wrist as she hands the tiny dagger to me. 

I gulp. Kaila did it. I can't back out now.

Biting on my lower lip nervously, I use the sharp tip of the already-bloodied dagger to cut the skin of my palm. The pain is hot and awful.

Kaila smiles and places our bloodied palms together.

"Now we're blood sisters forever".

I smile weakly, still shaken from what we've just done.

"Blood sisters forever," I say. I smile more certainly.

* * *

It's dark. I'm lying on what feels like concrete. This place smells dank and musty. My eyes fall to the vertical bars that trap me. I'm in a cell of some kind.

"You're awake I see," someone says in a gravelly voice. A shadow steps up to the bars. Magneto.

"I'm sorry, it's not really you that we want.You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," he says matter-of-factly. "But since we have you here, we might as well give you the honour of being our first test subject," he laughs in good humour.

I don't think it would seem funny to me even if I knew what he's talking about.

Another shadow joins in beside him.

"Ah, how nice. May I introduce to you the latest addition to our cause". I can't see well in the darkness but this new shadow is clearly a woman. She has long hair and is wearing some kind of suit. New addition? Like I would care.

"Where's John?" I croak. Magneto laughs and doesn't reply. Instead, he walks away, leaving the woman-shadow and me alone. "Have fun," he says.

She bends down. Is she going to hurt me? I can feel her staring at me.

"What do you want?" I ask with as much bitterness as I can muster. I don't appreciate being stared at like a lab specimen.

I hope they haven't done anything terrible to John.

Suddenly, she stands up and leaves. I'm alone again.

I try to understand how all this must have happened. Mystique must have been a trap to get John back to Magneto. She must have insinuated into gaining his trust and then she must have pretended to leave Magneto knowing that John would seek her out.

A loud sound of metal bolting jars me alert. The bars of my cell slide open slowly. The cell door opens wide with a loud clank.

Is this another sick joke?

I wait for something to happen but am greeted with silence. I peek my head out of the cell, checking to see whether the corridors are empty. There's no one around. Deciding that I better make my move before whatever good force that's decided to help me changes its mind, I bolt out of the cell.

I have to find John.

I make my way blindly down the corridor until I come to the end. There are doors at all sides. Which one should I take?

Without warning, there's a clicking sound and one of the doors swing open. Something doesn't feel right. I spin around wildly. There's someone standing in the shadows.

"Who are you? Why are you helping me?" I ask in confusion. I take a step forward towards the figure when I'm suddenly pushed through the open door. It slams close behind me. I try to open it but it's locked.

Looking at the closed door for a moment, I whisper, "Thank you". I make my way again.

* * *

This room is bright. I let my eyes adjust to my new surroundings. A corridor in the room leads to somewhere else. There are a few doors along it.

I check that there's no one around. My skin prickles with anxiety. I wish I were invisible.

Someone is banging on one of the doors from the inside. Through the small glass window on it, I see John yelling angrily, his voice muted by its thickness.

I run towards the door and signal to him that I'm going to let him out. He looks surprised and relieved to see me. I smile and he indicates towards something beside the door.

There's a small keypad on the wall. Looks like I need a password.

Something brushes against my neck. A piece of paper flutters onto the floor at my feet. It has numbers on it.

This is too easy. I know it's the work of that figure, whoever it is.

Punching in the numbers from the piece of paper, the door is unlocked. To my surprise, John rushes out and grabs me in a bear hug that almost crushes me.

"You're okay! I thought something happened to you," he says. Woah, I didn't know he cared about me that much.

"Glad to see you too," I manage to choke out from beneath his grip. John suddenly realises what he's doing. He releases me and scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment. I laugh.

We hear voices. John grabs my hand and we hide behind one of the other doors.

Looks like some kind of storeroom.

John peeks out the door through a small crack. I hear the voices walk past. He lets out a breath.

"Who's that?" I ask.

"Frog and Kay," he says without turning, "Kay's new. Magneto thinks he can develop her into something powerful". Frog? What kind of name is that?

John leads me out of the room.

The both of them are still walking down the corridor, their backs to us. One is a guy wearing a long overcoat. He has a funny gait in his walk, almost as if he had frog-legs. That must be Frog. The other is a woman with long dark hair in a ponytail. She wears a red leather overcoat and matching boots. They turn the corner.

There's something vaguely familiar about her.

"Lyn". John has opened a door at the other end of the corridor. He indicates that we go through it.

I like John better this way. He seems less maniacal. Suddenly I realise why.

"Where's your lighter?"

John frowns. "Magneto took it". Of course, he wouldn't want John burning the door down now, would he? John's jacket is gone too. I can't for the life of me understand why Magneto would take it.

John sees me looking. "If you're wondering about my jacket, Frog took it".

"Oh". That sucks.

We go through the door.

"At first I didn't understand why Magneto would want me back so badly. After all, I wasn't exactly a Kay. But now I do".

We stare at the large, weird-looking metal contraption in front of us.

It looks like a transformer out of some science fiction movie.

John circles it and starts explaining, "See, fire emits a lot of electromagnetic waves, like infra-red, light and even a bit of UV". Since when was John such a scientist? He takes in the incredulous look on my face before he continues. "Magneto thinks that by shortening the wavelengths of these waves, he could create a lot of gamma radiation".

I realise what he's saying. "To mutate all of humankind". John nods.

"But there's a problem. He can't get enough fuel to supply enough fire and even if he could, it would take a lot of trouble".

"So he wants to use you to generate power for this thing," I say, my voice rising at his ruthlessness.

"Yeah, but I can't create fire, only manipulate it". John points at a pointed stick-like object atop a raised platform on the contraption. "That thing creates a spark. I'm supposed to stand on that platform, create a continuous stream of fire from it and feed it to the transformer".

I suck in a breath. This is big. Really, really, big.

"How did he get the knowledge to make this thing anyway?"

"I don't know. For all I know, maybe he designed it himself. After all he and Professor Xavier were the ones who created the Cerebro".

"The what?"

"I'll tell you about that some other time".

We have to tell somebody. If Magneto's plan is carried out, this war between humans and mutants will never cease.

"Even if we do escape, what if he manages to get all the fuel he needs some other way?"

John knows I'm right. He knows who we can inform. He knows who can help us. Even if he doesn't like it one bit.

"The X-men".


	5. Red

"That won't be neccessary," a voice says from behind us. We're caught. Bubbles of panic rise in my chest. John, although defenseless himself, moves to stand in front of me. I'm touched at his attempt to protect me. 

"You'll never make me work that thing for you, Magneto," he says.

Magneto cocks an eyebrow, as if in amusement at John's futile attempt to stand up to him. "You wouldn't want us to do anything to your human though, would you?". I see the muscles at the back of John's neck tense up.

"Well you'll have to get past me first," he says readying himself, feet apart. I'm horrified at the thought of him unarmed, trying to win a losing battle against Magneto. But at the same time, my face grows warm at his words.

Magneto laughs, that same tinge of amusement in his voice. He likes John's seeming fearlessness.

He raises his arms and I feel the static crackle in the air, his powers attracting metal objects all around us. A long pole with a sharp end lying against the wall levitates and flies towards us.

"No!" I shout. Suddenly, the pole falters and twists, as if another force is changing the direction of its movement. I see Magneto's face twist in confusion and his eyes widen as the pole turns to point its sharp end at him. A flash of red leather comes up behind him.

"Don't mess with my friend," the familiar figure says. Kaila? I almost don't recognise her; she has changed so much in appearance. Her eyes look hardened as if from prolonged anguish.

"Kay! What are you doing?" Magneto heaves, trying to force the pole from flying towards him.

Kaila gives a sardonic smile, one which I've never before seen on her pretty face. It looks alien on her. The pole charges towards Magneto, as if it is going to impale him. Violent images of blood fill my head. I scream at Kaila to stop. At the last second, it stops and twists itself around him, trapping him.

"Don't worry Lyn, I wasn't gonna kill him," she says coolly. I stare at her in amazement. Our faces break into wide grins.

* * *

Kaila holds the pole around Magneto's body against his will until we manage to find a piece of rope to tie around him. I can't get over how much her powers have grown.

"Bravo, Kay," Magneto says with a small, ironic smile. I can't help but feel that he somehow feels proud of what she's done. "You've fooled us, fooled me all along".

"Hey, I learned from the best," Kaila cocks an eyebrow at him and stuffs his mouth with a ball of cloth.

Kaila has changed, I can see that. She has somehow become colder and

John comes up behind me. "I could've handled him myself," he says, eyeing her sullenly.

"Welcome," she quips. The both of them must not have gotten on famously in the past, from the off-handed way at which she handled him.

Or perhaps she handles everyone like that now. However, such thoughts escape my mind when she walks past him towards me with a warm smile. We hug each other tight, long-lost sisters reunited.

"It was you, wasn't it?" I ask in realisation. "You've been helping us all along". She pulls back.

"You," she corrects. "Not 'us'. Not him," she jerks her head towards John who is still eyeing her warily.

"The both of you must have gotten on pretty well," I joke. John snorts behind her.

Kaila's expression grows serious. "Alright, the both of you have to leave now, although we have much catching up to do," she looks at me with the eyes of the best friend I used to know, although somewhat changed. "Frog must be crashing the door down by now". Seeing my quizzical expression, she laughs, "I locked him in the storeroom and pretended that the door got stuck. Be back in a sec, I said".

I laugh. Then my voice growing softer, I ask her, "Why are you here Kaila? Why did you join Magneto? Do you hate humans now?" I gulp, remembering different times.

A look of profound sadness appears in her eyes. "I've changed, Lyn. Before we left, I still had you to remind me that not all humans are narrow-minded idiots. But later on, it got harder. My parents found me too much of a burden. What I am too much of a burden. They chased me out, left me to starve to death. I had nowhere to go, then Magneto took me in. From then on, I'd promised myself that I woudn't let humans get the best of me again," she stops. "But then, there'll always be one exception. That's you".

My heart aches at what she's saying but I know I can't make her change her mind. She's not the same Kaila I used to know. I'd known it from the moment I'd first seen her. I nod.

"So what will happen to you now?" I ask, indicating towards Magneto tied up on the floor.

"Don't worry, I'll think of something. You know I always do". I do know. Some things will never change in Kaila, like her stubbornness. Like mine too, for that matter.

* * *

We're led out of what now looks like a warehouse. I wonder how often Magneto has to keep moving his headquarters to avoid discovery.

Before we leave, Kaila presses something cold and hard into my hand. It is a dagger, the one we had used in our pact.

"Keep this, to protect yourself, and to remember our friendship". I detect a hint of sorrow in her eyes, although she tries hard to hide it. Silly Kaila, I won't forget her, even without the help of the dagger to remind me. I try one last time to persuade her to come along with us. She shakes her head.

"I have too many things to do. Too many things to resolve". I don't think I would like what she has planned in mind. I bite my tongue, not willing to know what her intentions are. I don't wish to make an enemy of my own best friend.

She shooes me off with a wave of her hand. "Go on then, you have a long walk to make," she says. I turn away slowly. This wasn't how I'd wanted our reunion to be, curt and unsatisfying. But John is already walking in front of me, eager to leave. I walk faster to catch up with him, feeling Kaila's presence growing fainter and fainter with each step. Unbidden, the tears roll down my cheeks.


End file.
